22-653: Cape Fear is a coastal plain and Tidewater region of North Carolina centered about the city of Wilmington . The region takes its name from the adjacent Cape Fear headland , as does the Cape Fear River which flows through the region and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the cape. Much of the region's populated areas are found along the Atlantic beaches and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway , while
44-628: A depth of 100 meters. The continental shelf off the Atlantic Ocean ranges in width from less than 1 km off Florida to more than 420 km off Maine. The average width is about 135 km. The Coastal Plain of the United States includes all or portions of the states of Alabama , Arkansas , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Maryland , Massachusetts , Mississippi , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Rhode Island , Tennessee , Texas and Virginia . From
66-699: Is an endemic plant community found in most of the Atlantic coastal plain, ranging from Virginia to northern Florida. These woodland savannas are reliant on sandy soils and are fire dependent, lest hardwoods start to dominate. Alongside longleaf pine , typically associated flora includes turkey oak and wiregrass . The Florida longleaf pine sandhill extends the longleaf pine forests into central Florida, with South Florida slash pine flatwoods , Florida sand pine scrub and Florida dry prairie stretching into southern Florida. Longleaf pine woodlands also stretch further west, to eastern Texas. These consist of East Gulf and West Gulf longleaf pine flatwoods , bisected by
88-676: Is home to the Port of Wilmington, the busiest port in North Carolina, operated by the North Carolina State Ports Authority . It is also the location of Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point , the largest ammunition port in the nation, and the U.S. Army 's primary East Coast deep-water port. The Cape Fear region is situated on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. A large portion of the region is low-lying wetlands , most notably
110-463: Is now identified as a global biodiversity hotspot, with over 1500 endemic plant species, and ~70% habitat loss. This endemism is particularly high in the longleaf pine savannas and woodlands , along with the other herbaceous and fire dependent ecosystems of the ecoregion. Despite intermittent flooding, certain refugia have remained continuously terrestrial since at least the late Cretaceous (85-80mya), contributing to endemism. Generally speaking, despite
132-659: Is the flattest of the U.S. physiographic divisions and stretches over 2,200 miles (3,500 km) in length from Cape Cod to the Mexican border and southward an additional 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Yucatán Peninsula . The central and southern Atlantic Coast is characterized by barrier and drowned valley coasts. The coastal Atlantic plain features nearly continuous barriers interrupted by inlets , large embayments with drowned river valleys , and extensive wetlands and marshes . The Atlantic plain slopes gently seaward from
154-498: The 2020 census , the population of the three counties was 440,353. The coastal counties boast a large, seasonal tourism industry leading to much higher populations in the summer months and lower populations in the winter months. Two additional counties, Bladen and Columbus , are occasionally included as part of the Cape Fear region. Some broader definitions also include Duplin , Onslow , and Sampson counties. Communities found in
176-454: The Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic coastal plains. The Atlantic Plain is generally gently dipping undeformed Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments, with the sedimentary wedge thickening toward the sea, reaching a maximum thickness of about 3 kilometers (10,000 ft) in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina . Despite being previously overlooked in research, the Atlantic Coastal Plain
198-599: The Mississippi Alluvial Plain . To the north, the Atlantic Coastal Plain also broaches into the mesic hardwood forests of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests , followed by the northern Atlantic coastal pine barrens . The southernmost Atlantic Plain contains the only Neotropical ecoregion of the continental USA, being the Everglades and Florida mangroves . The following species are largely endemic to
220-696: The Green Swamp, which is one of the rare habitats of the Venus flytrap . The Cape Fear River and the Northeast Cape Fear River are the deeper prominent rivers that flow through the region, with minor rivers like the Lockwood Folly River , Brunswick River , and Shallotte River providing access for small watercraft of small communities. Three counties form the core of the Cape Fear region: Brunswick County , New Hanover County , and Pender County . At
242-668: The United States , published in 1916. The map was updated and republished by the Association of American Geographers in 1928. The map was adopted by the United States Geological Survey by publication in 1946. The classification hierarchy used in the 1916 publication of the American Association of Geographers was division/province/section/subsection. The use of province in this hierarchy undoubtedly confounded
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#1732854774248264-553: The Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area: As of the census of 2000, there were 274,532 people, 114,675 households, and 75,347 families residing within the metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The racial makeup of the MSA was 79.47% White , 17.27% African American , 0.48% Native American , 0.58% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 1.12% from other races , and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.45% of
286-590: The contiguous United States . Using the USGS physiographic classification system, the Atlantic Plain division comprises two provinces and six sections. The Coastal Plain province is differentiated from the Continental Shelf province simply based on the portion of the land mass above and below sea level. The lands adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are made up of sandy beaches, marshlands, bays, and barrier islands. It
308-571: The effort to develop a physiographical map consistent across the North American continent since Canada used province as the term for its first-level political subdivision. Province in Canada is a loose analogy for state in the US, and obviously would create great confusion if the same word was used in two vastly different geographical classifications. As late as 1914, the terminology used by an AAG publication used
330-468: The high diversity of soils, the soil is nutrient poor. This is primarily due to an abundance of well-drained soils, creating a primarily xeric character to the floral makeup of the Atlantic Plain. However, waterlogged soils are also notable, with wetlands and hammocks being important ecological features. The Eastern woodlands are the original, predominant ecosystem of the Atlantic coastal plain. The Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodland
352-522: The inland highlands in a series of terraces. This gentle slope continues far into the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico , forming the continental shelf. The relief at the land-sea interface is so low that the boundary between them is often blurry and indistinct, especially along stretches of the Louisiana bayous and the Florida Everglades . The Atlantic Ocean has a broad, flat continental shelf that reaches
374-475: The most part, of layers of sand and clay which are not yet hardened into sandstone and shale. The Coastal Plain features nearly continuous barrier islands interrupted by inlets, large embayments with drowned river valleys, and extensive wetlands and marshes. The Coastal Plain slopes gently seaward from the inland highlands in a series of terraces. The province's average elevation is less than 900 meters above sea level and extends some 50 to 100 kilometers inland from
396-521: The northeast, it begins on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and stretches to the southwest to South Padre Island, Texas . This is approximately 1,900 miles (3,100 km). This province consists of the following physiographic sections: the Embayed, Sea Island , Floridian , East Gulf Coastal Plain , Mississippi Alluvial Plain , and the West Gulf Coastal Plain . The rocks in the province consist, for
418-507: The ocean. The coastal plain is normally wet, including many rivers, marsh , and swampland . It is composed primarily of sedimentary rock and unlithified sediments and is primarily used for agriculture . The Atlantic Coastal Plain includes the Carolina Sandhills region as well as the Embayed and Sea Island physiographic provinces. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is sometimes subdivided into northern and southern regions, specifically
440-501: The population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $ 37,321, and the median income for a family was $ 44,844. Males had a median income of $ 32,454 versus $ 22,998 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $ 20,287. 34°14′N 77°58′W / 34.23°N 77.97°W / 34.23; -77.97 Atlantic Coastal Plain The Atlantic Plain is one of eight distinct physiographic divisions of
462-683: The region. Amphibian diversity is especially notable in the Atlantic Plain. Some of these species' ranges may extend into the longleaf pine woodlands and savannas of the Gulf Plain. 32°N 83°W / 32°N 83°W / 32; -83 Physiographic regions of the United States The physiographic regions of the contiguous United States comprise 8 divisions, 25 provinces, and 85 sections. The system dates to Nevin Fenneman 's report Physiographic Divisions of
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#1732854774248484-628: The rural areas are dominated by farms and swampland like that of the Green Swamp . The general area can be also identified by the titles "Lower Cape Fear", "Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area", "Southeastern North Carolina", and "Azalea Coast". The latter name is derived from the North Carolina Azalea Festival held annually in Wilmington. Municipalities in the area belong to the Cape Fear Council of Governments . The region
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